If you delete files using operating system methods, the data is not really deleted. Only a reference to the file is removed. The contents remain available until another file takes its place. Anyone, who uses the appropriate software tool, can very easily restore data that has been removed in this way.

Using various functions, the shredder deletes files completely and permanently. A context menu can be created in Windows Explorer with which you can comfortably delete files and directories. ArchiCrypt Shredder itself offers a file manager, which provides several clever additional possibilities (freely definable favourites register, hard drive menu, plus the means of quickly accessing important system functions). Simply drag & drop files or directories to the delete field and the files will be securely deleted. In addition, the shredder’s Secure Zones provide a further absolutely unique possibility for securely deleting files. See also Secure Zones instructions.

The free space is the area of a hard drive that the system displays as available (not used). In reality, however, data from the files that the operating system has “deleted” is actually there. If you occasionally delete sensitive data using system functions (Windows Explorer or other file managers), you should also clean the free space. Even file names of deleted data can be revealing and divulge information. The shredder removes every trace. Cluster tips, space at the end of a file, in which sensitive data might be found, are critical because they are normally not deleted. The shredder helps here, too. If the free space is cleaned when the operating system is running, it has to share resources with the rest of the system. In order to clean much more quickly, the shredder can carry out this task even before the system is started. Some files cannot be deleted when the system is running, but here again, using its own processes, the shredder also deletes the files before the system is started. (Note: The operating system already does have a function for noting such files before the system starts up. However, the deletion itself takes place through the system and, therefore, with unsecure methods. In contrast to normal deletion tools, which use this unsecure method, the shredder takes care of this task itself.)

If you use Internet Explorer, version 5 or above, you can view the files that are collected on your data media while you surf and individually and securely delete it.